


New beginnings

by themerrymutants



Category: Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Deaf Character, Disabled Character of Color, Genderfluid Character, Minor Violence, Nonbinary Character, POV Multiple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-24 06:52:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13208313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themerrymutants/pseuds/themerrymutants
Summary: Candidates Karynn and Aodh are called to attend the hatching of Green Markeith's clutch. The dragon has a long, long history of troubled clutches with eggs that rarely hatch and hatchlings that rarely survive but it's only polite and maybe this time they'll luck out.





	New beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Formatting note: Bold and italicized text stand for dragon's speaking aloud, simply italicized text for dragons speaking privately with their bonded, underlined text indicating projections of emotions and sensations. In this case straight bolded text indicates signed dialogue with letters in all caps separated by dashes are finger spelled.
> 
> Canon divergence note: In this particular divergence whers are fully sentient, some green dragons are capable of clutching, and dragons sometimes have a mutation allowing them to harm humans (directly or indirectly).

Markeith had been watching over her eggs like a huntbird. It seemed three might have been duds but there was a chance the other two  _might_  make it. Bra'in hated being on the sands, not due to any discomfort on their part but rather how often they'd have to help her forget tragedy. She tried so hard to be a good mother, to ensure her children lived, but something seemed bound and determined to make sure that never happened. Honestly, though they'd never admit it aloud, part of them wondered if the only reason why candidates showed up to her clutches was out of pity. Terrible thought they knew but with how often her clutches failed they could see it.  
  
It was reaching that unholy block of candlemarks between midnight and sunrise when the smallest egg of the clutch,  **The Knight's Watch egg** , the one Bra'in was most certain was a dud, twitched. Then the oddly shaped  **Light and Dark egg** , then the others. Markeith uncurled herself from around her eggs doing a small dance in place. They were alive! They were alive!  
  
_Oh! Oh! Bra'in mine! They're hatching! **Come on candidates get your as-**_  Bra'in pursed their lips at her giving her one of those 'language' looks, honestly they were such a killjoy,  _ **behinds down here my children are hatching!**_  
  
  
It was the middle of the night when the call went out, Karynn had come back from sneaking out to talk with Danysk about her fears just in time to need to toss on her robe and get to the sands. She weaved her way through the crowd until she spotted Aodh, a rather shy kid who didn't talk much but was pretty friendly. He looked like a nervous wreck and she figured he'd appreciate  _some_ back-up.   
  
**It'll be O-K,** she assured him as they neared the sands.  
  
**You sure? She's not exact-**  
  
Karynn held up her hand to interrupt him.  **I have a good feeling about these ones. They all seemed pretty vocal to me. Especially Light and Dark.**  
  
By the time the pair had arrived everyone else seemed to have settled into their places. Why did Aodh have to be so painfully  _sloooowwww_? She understood that he had his quirks but...she couldn't complain too much though. Her own quirks were probably just as annoying in someone else's eyes.   


* * *

  
Almost immediately after they arrived the first egg began to crack. Aodh couldn't quite remember the name, the Knight's something or another. It was a pretty little egg with what almost looked like a coat of arms on the front, really small too. A lot of people had been worried about it because of that. A lot, a lot.  
  
As the egg struggled it became quite apparent something was wrong.   
  
_Oh no..._  he thought as the egg continued to wibble and wobble. Finally a foot broke free with an almighty "CRACK!". He couldn't quite make out the color between the glows and the natural light from the stars but it looked like it was maybe blue. A head popped out next, Faranth that was a long neck! Unfortunately it seemed the little one was still struggling and that was when a most unsettling noise was heard, like a knife cutting through a sail followed by the dragonet **_screaming_**. Oh shit, oh shit!  
  
Aodh didn't even think, not even for one moment, as he dashed across the Sands tearing off his robe as he went. He ignored the odd looks he was sure he was getting. He was wearing normal clothes underneath so it wasn't exactly like he was running around nude plus there wasn't anything better for makeshift bandages than whatever the hell that fabric was made of.  
  
**"Patching up then going!"**  he shouted to Markeith, well known for her overprotectiveness of her children, as he slid to a halt next to the dragonet who only made things worse as they tried to pull their foot out of their, visible, wing by themself. He gently removed the last bit of shell and unhooked their feet from their wings, Faranth  _between_  it'd be a miracle if they ever flew.  **"My name is Aodh. I'm a healer. I help little ones like you."**  
  
The dragonet looked up at him and for a moment it looked like it was going to speak. That was until a massive green paw suddenly crossed into Aodh's vision claws side towards him. He felt at least one of them rake across his chest as she swatted him away to check on her dragonet. In retrospect Aodh could understand why she'd reacted as she had. After having lost so many dragonets it made sense for her to be borderline paranoid about their safety. However in that moment he couldn't understand why she'd done it. He was helping. He'd said he was helping!  
  
_It's ok little one. Momma's here now,_  the green soothed as soon as she was sure the interloper couldn't immediately come back to try and hurt her darling. She tried to nose the dragonet to it's feet but only got swatted in return.  
  
**_AODH!_**  the little blue cried doing her best to scrabble over to where hers lay.  ** _He's mine momma! He's mine!_**  
  
It took a moment for the words of her daughter to sink in but once it had Markeith instantly tried to rush over to the boy to make amends. However the little blue stood over him hissing defiantly as she tried to flap sand with her better wing to distract her mother. She wasn't going to let anyone hurt Aodh. Never ever again. Never.  
  
Markeith quietly, and slowly, stepped back with a look of instant regret and sorrow. She could have caused the death of one of her hatchlings...it would have been all her fault.  
  
_Shhhhh. It's ok,_  Bra'in tried to soothe. Admittedly they agreed that it was really not smart but the weyrling and their bonded were alive. Injured but alive.  
  
With her mother no longer approaching the blue turned her attention back to hers as she frantically tried to nose him into giving some sort of response.  
  
_Aodh! Aodh! WAKE UP! Your Ysath needs you!_  Ysath cried desperately.  
  
**"Hear you,"**  he wheezed.  **"Wind knocked out. Nice meet you Ysath."**  
  
_Let the healers in ok? They'll help us both._  She nodded curling up next to him ready to fight off her mom if she tried anything again.  


* * *

  
Karynn watched everything unfold as  **The Knights Watch egg**  hatched, the dragonet was injured, her friend knocked back like a play toy, the dragonet trying to fight off it's mother. Faranth it was a regular stage drama! She'd need to commit all of this to memory to draw it later because wow it was something to remember. Blessedly it seemed Aodh not only survived but impressed! She'd have to congratulate him later but first it seemed the Paladin's something or another (why did they always have to be so weirdly named? What was wrong with simple ones?) egg decided it wanted to join the world. Blessedly it didn't have nearly as much trouble as its sibling hatching to reveal a lovely dragonet that seemed to have a faint sheen in the moonlight. For all of two moments it seemed that the little one had escaped Markeith's so called curse....until it found it's bonded and, in its excitement, lost its balance, spinning and turning as it did. She couldn't remember what they'd called the disorder but it came with a striped sort of pattern. At least it was nothing fatal and the dragonet had bonded successfully.  
  
The next to hatch was a dragonet small enough to make Karynn do a double take to make sure a flit hadn't accidentally gotten onto the sands. This one didn't seem to have any obvious disorders as they made their way to theirs but it remained to be seen whether that was actually the case. At least treatment was likely if there was something. Markeith had other clutches with dragonets that made it to adulthood after all. Sure it wasn't exactly a common thing but it was a thing.  
  
The next egg to hatch was  **Light and Dark** , the one that seemed to be pulling everyone in two directions. First to pop out was a tail good sign, looked pretty normal to her, good, good, next was a foot followed by muffled angry dragonet sounds. Ok not the worst thing, kind of amusing really. Finally, a head popped out and then another. Twin browns with a bit of a blotchy pattern! She expected them to go their separate ways until the dragonet stood up. Everyone in the crowd gasped. To say this dragonet was a mutant would probably be like saying the ocean was just a little wet. Two heads, one eyeless the other with four eyes, wings that were probably about the right size for a skitter  _maybe_  and a second set of forelimbs. Arms actually. They were actual little arms with little almost human-like hands.

Karynn tried to think of herself as extremely liberal. She tried really hard in fact. She'd never minded mutants before, she even had a mutant skitter! However, it seemed she wasn't as liberal as she thought as she took a large, horrified, step back away from the severely mutated dragonet. The eyeless head began leading their sibling towards the crowd their head bobbing like they were trying to pick up a scent as they moved down the line of wide eyed candidates. Meanwhile the four eyed head started scanning the audience, then the candidates, back to the audience again. Karynn had a feeling this wouldn't end well....

 

* * *

  
The egg was a warm and quiet place…for the most part. Nothing but soft brushes from their mother's mind and the soft hum of their siblings. All was quiet, all was sound. Then suddenly it wasn't. So many minds brushing up against theirs it was scary almost. They wanted to cry out for their mother, make her make them go away. That was when eggmate-mind stepped in baring his mental teeth.  
  
So many of the minds held bad things. Images of eggs that never hatched, never even wobbled, siblings gone, an almost certainty that at least one clutchmate of theirs wouldn't make it. Why? Why wouldn't the others make it? They could feel every last one of them just fine. Nobody seemed sick. They grew increasingly distressed at the terrible, terrible images until fresher minds came. Fresher minds, softer minds. Hopeful minds. They liked these ones. One was afraid though, so both they and eggmate-mind reassured that they'd be ok. Maybe theirs wouldn't be there but they would still be ok in the end.  
  
It seemed that the whole world outside had come to touch them and they were getting tired but then came one more. That mind was nice. It had sharp parts, rough parts, but overall it was nice. They liked it a lot. Maybe they could convince it to stay?   
  
Need, need, want, hope? There was a soft sound from outside their little world, it was a nice sound, they liked it too. Then nice mind left. Why did it have to go? Mother-mind sent warm and happy to them but it wasn't what they wanted. They wanted nice-mind. Where did nice-mind go?  


* * *

  
Ahimath and Xioth could hear their siblings hatching, could feel the excitement. Xioth wanted to join the fun too but Ahi was a bit more wary. They couldn't feel what Xioth had when nice-mind had touched the little world he shared with his sibling. That fact frightened him greatly. Sure nice-mind was ok. There was nothing wrong with it but there wasn't something right either.  
  
Still it was their time to shine. With his sibling's help he kicked open their shell. His head rose first surveying the surroundings for anything that might cause his sibling harm. Assured of that he let Xioth take the lead, they were the one that had clearly found someone they liked after all. He could just continue to scan the crowd for someone,  _anyone_ , who might fit. It wasn't looking good though. No one fit. Not a single one. The ones in white were backing away from them for the most part and the crowd seemed to be caught somewhere between polite silence and internal screaming. There was one that tried to step up bless their heart but they were clearly neither his nor Xioth's so he bared his teeth in warning. Xioth would get theirs, if it killed him, Xioth would get theirs.  
  
He watched as Xioth carefully sniffed the air as if to sniff out their bonded rather than feel for them. It seemed Xioth was getting close judging by the growing excitement he could feel radiating off of them in waves. Ahi though…Ahi couldn't even find a second or third best. He was missing a piece and that piece wasn't there and that knowledge frightened him more than anything else. Xioth though. Xioth had no such trouble. It took them some searching especially since many of the more suitable ones kept backing away but at last Xioth triangulated where theirs was.  
  
**_Karynn!_**   they called cheerily.  ** _Karynn why are you hiding from your Xioth?_**  
  
Xioth trotted over to nuzzle theirs who seemed torn between 'oh faranth what the actual fuck' and 'awwwwww'. That was good. Ahimath could live with that. His was missing though. Either not in existence or didn't come for him. He hoped it was the former. It hurt less.   
  
_Ahi? Ahi what's wrong?_  Xioth asked gently nosing their twin.  
  
_Xi...there's no one here. Nobody._  Ahimath replied swallowing thickly. He needed to find something. Someone. Anyone. There had to be  _something_  that'd work! Xioth needed him to find something that'd work.  
  
_But she's right here,_  they said confusedly,  _Just look!_  
  
It then dawned on Xioth what Ahimath was saying. Xi just wanted to stay, spend some time with nice-mind Karynn. They didn't get to last time but instinct was calling their sibling into the void.  
  
_Ahi?_ their sibling murmured their voice cracking.  
  
_Yeah?_  
  
_What does she look like?_  They wanted to know...then they and their brother could go together.  
  
Ahimath went silent closing his four eyes as he lowered his head trying to find some way to make this work. He could follow his instinct, let out a heart broken cry and disappear forever, like dragons were supposed to do if met with the lack of a match or the death of theirs, but Xioth was overjoyed with their person and theirs was happy enough if a bit confused and torn on how to feel. If he went as dictated he'd be taking that away from the both of them. It'd be selfish for him to take his sibling's happiness just because he hadn't found his own, not to mention he'd been reassuring Xioth that they'd find theirs soon enough since they were first able to think. _Between_ beckoned him with open arms and a soft smile promising peace and rest. It wasn't his fault that his wasn't there just then. He could wait with her until their time came and be reunited again. Xioth..well it was just an unavoidable tragedy. For a moment he considered taking the offer but only for a moment. No. No. NO! They were their own master more than capable of forging their own path in life. He spat in the face of _Between_ she would inevitably have him one day but that day was **not** today.

All seemed to hold their breath as he slowly opened his eyes to reveal the whirling rainbows of Impression.

  
_Home, Xioth, she looks like home._


End file.
